TransCatholic members will be at the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons

Booth #464

And as featured panelist in:

6-09 Transgender in the Family: One Bread, One Body

Saturday February 25th – 3:00 -4:30

Gender identity and transgender issues have become hot topics in media, politics, schools and other religious and social Arenas. In this session, a panel moderated by Dr. Arthur Fitzmaurice will speak from lived experience to help us be sensitive, loving and supportive of transgender Catholics and their families in the midst of transition. Fr. Bryan Massingale will offer theological reflection and respond to the witnesses of transgender Catholics and family members on the panel. Attention will be given to exploring best practices for integrating gender-diverse families in our parishes, schools and health-care systems.

Arthur Fitzmaurice, PhD

Freelance speaker and minister Dr. Arthur Fitzmaurice has served a decade in ministry with LGBT Catholics. He has spoken at various gatherings, including the Religious Education Congress, the Faith Formation Conference, the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry, and the Gay Christian Network. Dr. Fitzmaurice appears in several YouTube episodes produced by the Ignatian News Network. He has also received the Archdiocese’s Lumen Christi and the Cardinal’s Young Adult in Ministry awards.

Fr. Bryan N. Massingale, STD

Fr. Bryan Massingale, a priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, is Professor of Theology at Fordham University in New York. A noted authority on Catholic moral theology and social ethics, he has lectured extensively on ethical and racial justice issues throughout the United States and internationally. A previous Religious Education Congress Keynoter, Fr. Massingale is a former President of the Catholic Theological Society of America and has been a leader of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium.

Let us know if you are going to be there.

THE LOS ANGELES RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CONGRESSRECongress is the largest annual gathering of its kind in the world. The four-day event is held at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center and is sponsored by the Los Angeles Office of Religious Education. Begun in 1968 as an “institute” for religious education (CCD) teachers, RECongress has grown to include people of all vocations and different faiths.Youth Day (February 23, 2017) – Congress opens on Thursday with a day-long event for high school youth. This is an opportunity for students – not only from the Los Angeles Archdiocese but throughout California and the western states – to come together and share in Liturgy, workshops, entertainment and to experience the energy of a Youth Day Rally. See our Youth Day page.Congress days (February 24-26) – The remaining three-day weekend is open to adults and young adults and offers more than 200 speakers presenting over 300 workshops, in addition to lunchtime entertainment, evening concerts, 16 Liturgies in a variety of characters, the Exhibit Hall and much more.Free Exhibits (open to Registrants only) – One of the perks of Congress is the Exhibit Hall – held Friday through Sunday – showcasing over 200 companies ranging from religious art to music, and from publishing houses to educational institutions, in addition to our own represented Archdiocesan ministries. See our 2017 Exhibitor Listing.

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Jesuit Fr. James Martin again affirmed LGBT inclusion, saying transgender people using restrooms according to their gender identity “seems a fairly simple thing to do.” Meanwhile, U.S. bishops intensified their criticism of expanding transgender equality.

In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, Martin was asked about the federal government’s new directive mandating transgender students be allowed to use gender-segregated facilities, like restrooms and locker rooms, according to their gender identity. Martin responded:

“I don’t know a whole lot about that issue, but I would say that I don’t understand the problem with letting transgender people use bathrooms that they feel comfortable in. Personally, I think it’s overblown and that people’s responses are really strange. I don’t know that much about transgender people but that’s all the more reason for us to try and treat them with dignity.

San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has issued a statement which indicates that he will not oppose the Sisters of Mercy’s decision to continue to employ a transgender teacher at Mercy H.S. in that city.

The National Catholic Reporter said they received a statement from the archdiocese which said Cordileone sees that the decision is within the “legitimate range of prudential judgment.”

The newspaper quoted other sections from the archbishop’s statement:

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone

“In his May 12 statement, Cordileone said he was ‘grateful that leadership of the Mercy Sisters spoke to me in advance and explained their reasoning and their plan on how to address the situation. In so doing the sisters strongly affirmed our Catholic beliefs and values and that they and the school do not advocate for policies or causes that contradict these values and beliefs.’

“Cordileone continued, ‘Often in such situations a balance must be struck in a…

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This Catholic School board members response to a transphobic letter is a beautiful message of just why we, as catholics need to support transgender students and people in their medically indicated best approach to living life. “When we are seen to be following in the footsteps of the Pharisees rather than those of our Lord, we create great scandal. “

Just as Pope Francis began his schedule in Philadelphia, Catholics gathered in a church hall in downtown to explore ideas and personal experiences about gender identity. The New Ways Ministry-sponsored workshop, titled “Transforming Love,” featured four speakers sharing their stories of being trans*, of being intersex, of being an LGBTQI person’s family member–and doing all of this as Catholics.

Julie Chovanes

After an opening communal prayer service, Julie Chovanes, a transexual Catholic woman from Philadelphia, began the morning’s presentations. Steve Ahlquist of RIFuture.org reported:

“Chovanes was raised in the Byzantine Catholic tradition. . .Coming out and transitioning has been a challenge, but she feels she has ‘been accepted in the city, I feel that Philadelphia is the best city in the world for [trans persons].”

“I don’t consider myself a man or a girl. . .I am a trans. My brain and my soul are a woman’s, but my body is a…